


The Marathon Runner

by Persiflage



Category: Holby City
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Elinor Campbell Lives, F/F, Holby Marathon, Light Angst, Marathon Running, Mild Sexual Content, Robbie Medcalf (Mentioned), Trauma Unit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:54:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25013521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage
Summary: Canon Divergence: Bernie Wolfe meets Serena Campbell for the first time in dramatic fashion on the day of the Holby Marathon by saving Elinor from a car accident.
Relationships: Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe
Comments: 16
Kudos: 97





	The Marathon Runner

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sevtacular](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevtacular/gifts), [Bat_and_Breakfast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bat_and_Breakfast/gifts).



> Oh look, the Bitch Muse is back with her frankly weird AU ideas. In this case, Bernie Wolfe, former Major with the RAMC, as a full time marathon runner. No, I don't know where she gets these bloody ideas from, either! I just had the image of Bernie, in running gear, entering AAU with an unconscious figure slung across her shoulders in a fireman's carry and that was that. Sheesh.

“And the last item that I wanted to talk to you about is the upcoming Holby Marathon.”

Serena bites back a groan at Henrik’s words. She hates Marathon day as it always brings in a massive influx of patients, mostly people who haven’t trained properly to run 26 miles around Holby and who hurt themselves as a consequence, thereby overwhelming both AAU and the ED. 

“What about it?” Serena asks. “It’s in August, as usual, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Henrik confirms. “What I wanted to tell you is that I had an email from one of the organisers, who’s also a participant. A–” He looks down and checks the notepad in front of him. “A Major BG Wolfe of the RAMC, who’s promised to give all the proceeds of his sponsorship to us. Specifically to AAU with the understanding that it is earmarked for the proposed Trauma Unit.”

“And who is this Major Wolfe?” Serena asks. A self-important man, no doubt, still if he wants to donate the money he raises for the Trauma Unit she’s spent the last few months fighting to get funded she won’t complain. As a certain supermarket’s adverts frequently remind her, every little helps.

“I do not have precise information. Just that he has been serving overseas for the last twenty five years but completed his first rotation here at Holby and when he heard that we were looking to fund a trauma unit, he decided he wanted to help.”

“Well, if he wants to send us the money he raises, I’m hardly going to turn it down,” Serena says. “Is he likely to want to come and take a tour of AAU? To see where his money’s going?”

“He did not say so. Would you like to make him such an offer?”

“Why don’t you do it, Henrik?” Serena suggests. “It’ll be better coming from you as the CEO, especially since the initial contact he had was with you.”

“Very well. But you will be on your best behaviour if he comes?”

“Of course, Henrik. I shall be sweetness and light itself.”

He arches one eyebrow at her, but doesn’t otherwise comment, to Serena’s relief, and she gathers up her belongings, then makes her way back downstairs to AAU. She puts the unknown Major’s offer out of her mind – the Holby Marathon is still four months away and she has more urgent matters to concern her than some mysterious benefactor.

 **Four months later**

AAU is bustling and Serena’s just turned away from yet another victim of the Holby Marathon when the doors bang open and a lean, blonde haired figure in typical runner’s gear comes through with another figure balanced over their shoulders in a fireman’s carry. 

“Some help here,” calls the woman and Serena, after nearly swooning at the sight, rushes forward with Fletch and Donna joining her to guide the woman over to a bed onto which she lowers a young woman with long red hair.

“Ellie?” Serena gasps, shocked to her core when she recognises her daughter. “What happened?” 

“It’s okay,” the blonde says. “There’s no serious damage. I–”

“I’ll be the judge of that, thank you,” Serena snaps.

“Um, no, you won’t,” the blonde says. “Not if you know this young woman.”

“That’s my daughter. And it’s no further business of yours. Get out of the way.”

Serena tries to push past the blonde in order to get closer to the head of Ellie’s bed, and Fletch and Donna both speak, their voices becoming garbled in Serena’s ears. The blonde, however, is having none of it. She captures Serena’s wrists in a surprisingly strong grip given how slender her fingers are and pushes her lean body between Serena’s and the bed.

“Ms Campbell, you know you cannot treat your own daughter.” Donna’s words cut through the noise of Serena’s blood hammering in her ears just as the blonde gently but firmly guides her back from the bed, even as she starts relating what had happened to bring Elinor to AAU.

“The young woman, Ellie is it? She was filming the end of the Marathon. I was coming in hard and saw a man in a car trailing her really slowly as she was working her way towards the finish line. There was a surge within the crowd, and she was inadvertently pushed in front of the car. He wasn’t moving very fast because of all the spectators, but he still hit her hard enough to knock her down. I assessed her at the scene and could find no obvious damage, but I’m concerned about a possible concussion. I realised that with the density of the crowd, I could get her here quicker than an ambulance could reach her and bring her back, so I brought her in.”

“And just who are you to be deciding whether or not it’s safe to move my daughter?” demands Serena, yanking herself free of the woman’s grip. 

“I’m a trauma surgeon, well retired now. But Major Berenice Wolfe, RAMC. The crash really was very low impact, or I wouldn’t have risked moving her at all. I suspect she’ll have some nasty bruises, and there’s that gash on her head, but there are no broken bones and I couldn’t find any obvious damage to her internal organs either, although you’ll no doubt carry out the necessary scans.” 

The blonde woman is still blocking Serena’s path to the head of the bed, but she’s stopped trying to push past her by now, knowing quite well Donna and this Major are right about her not treating Ellie.

“Why don’t you have a seat somewhere, Ms–” The Major looks at her expectantly, and Serena manages to pull herself together at least a little.

“Campbell. Serena Campbell. Clinical lead of AAU and mother of Elinor.”

“Ms Campbell, is there somewhere you can sit quietly while you wait for your colleagues to run the tests on Elinor?”

Serena finally pulls her attention from her daughter’s pale face and looks at the woman beside her. “My office,” she says and is unsurprised when the Major, after a quick look at Donna and Fletch, who both nod, accompanies her.

“I am sorry you have had such a shock, Ms Campbell,” the Major says, and sits in one of the visitor’s chairs alongside Serena’s desk when she gestures vaguely at them. 

“Serena, please,” she says. Then adds conscientiously, “Thank you for looking after Ellie for me.”

“You’re very welcome, Serena. I won’t say it was my pleasure – it’s never a pleasure to have to deal with trauma injuries, although I daresay I called it satisfying when it was how I earned my bread and butter.”

A few moments later, Donna sticks her head around the door. “It appears that Major Wolfe’s on site assessment was correct, although I’ve ordered all the necessary scans for Elinor. And the police are on their way to interview both the Major and Elinor once she’s awake.”

“What about the driver of the car?” asks the Major before Serena can.

“He’s been arrested.”

“Good.” 

Donna gives them a nod, then goes back out.

Serena’s so relieved that she’s crying before she even realises it, and the Major instantly reaches out a hand towards her. Serena reaches back and allows the blonde to draw her, in her wheeled chair, close enough that she can comfortably reach to rub a hand up and down her upper arm in a brisk, yet surprisingly comforting, gesture. 

“It’s okay, Serena,” she says in a soft voice. “She’s going to be okay, you’ll see.”

Serena nods, then pulls some tissues from the box on her desk and does her best to quiet her sobbing. The Major draws her out of her chair and into the one beside her, wrapping a strong arm around her shoulders, and Serena finds herself crying on a stranger’s shoulder as she tries to process the shock of seeing Elinor lying in that bed.

“Tell me about Ellie?” the Major asks, her tone gentle and her expression friendly when Serena lifts her head.

“What do you want to know?”

“Whatever you feel comfortable telling me. You might start with something simple, such as how old she is. If she’s a student and what she’s studying.”

“Do you do this a lot?” Serena asks.

“Comfort weeping mothers?” The blonde chuckles softly. “Not too often, but I’ve comforted grieving comrades and celebrated with comrades whose friends made it through a traumatic injury.” She gives Serena a shy smile. “I served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in Eastern Europe, too. Trauma takes different people in different ways and that includes the friends and relatives of those who’ve been traumatised.”

“So a big macho army medic like you can deal with a strange woman weeping on her shoulder?”

The Major chuckles again. “Oh Serena, you’re a pussycat compared to some of the people I’ve dealt with.”

Serena feels herself flush a bit because this woman sounds very much like she’s flirting and while Serena herself will flirt with anyone, regardless of their gender, it’s rare that a woman flirts back. She lifts a hand to the back of her neck, aware that it’s a nervous gesture, and does her best to ignore the heat that’s flushing through her veins at the realisation that she is actually attracted to this woman.

“I understand from Hanssen, our CEO, that you offered to donate the money you raised today towards the hospital. Specifically for our planned Trauma Unit. You weren’t hoping to buy yourself a slot on the Trauma team, were you?”

The Major’s demeanour goes from warm and friendly to icy in an instant. “No, I was not. I would never buy myself a job. I don’t need to. I’m more than sufficiently experienced as a trauma surgeon in my own right.” She gets to her feet and looks out through the open blinds onto the busy ward, which Serena knows she should be returning to soon. 

“As I told Mr Hanssen when I contacted him, I did one of my F1 rotations here – though of course we didn’t call it that back then – and I wanted to give back to the hospital that was like a home to me at a time when I didn’t have one.” She stops speaking, looking pained and her expression becomes shuttered. “Holby City General Hospital deserves to have the best Trauma Unit that money can buy, and I knew I’d be able to raise a good sum since I’m both local and known to be an accomplished marathon runner.” She glances at Serena, her expression cold and closed off. “It’s up to you what you do with my donation. Spend it on whatever you choose. I only wanted to repay some of the generosity that was shown to me when I was here.”

In the next moment, the Major is out of the door and striding across the ward to intercept the two police officers who’ve just arrived. Then Hanssen appears in their wake and Serena sighs heavily, pinches the bridge of her nose, and decides that she was downright rude to the woman who might not have actually saved her daughter’s life, but who definitely didn’t deserve to have that accusation thrown at her head just because Serena was flustered by her sudden attraction to Major Berenice Wolfe.

She watches as Hanssen talks to both the Major and the two police officers, then gestures towards the lift, and the quartet soon disappear from sight, no doubt adjourning to use Hanssen’s office for the police to interview the Major. Serena finds her handbag and sets about making her face look less ravaged after her crying jag, then she heads back onto the ward.

She’s met almost immediately by Fletch, who assures her that Elinor is not only fine, but is newly conscious and asking for her mother.

“Thank goodness for that,” Serena says.

“Thank the Major,” Fletch replies, smiling. “I would never have imagined a woman as skinny as that could carry someone for a mile and a half on her shoulders, and after running a full out marathon, as well. She won it, too, you know?”

“Did she?” Serena asks as they move across the ward to Ellie’s bed.

“Yup. Crossed the line at a flat out sprint as she ran to help Elinor. She’s quite a woman.”

“Yes,” Serena says absently, her attention wholly focused on her daughter now. “Hello love. How’s your head?”

“Sore,” Ellie says, her voice a little hoarse. “Nurse Fletcher told me I was knocked down by a car at the marathon?”

“That’s right, love.” Serena gives her a somewhat shaky smile. “Luckily, the driver wasn’t moving very fast owing to the crowds of spectators, so it was a very low impact crash. You’ll have a sore head for a few days and some spectacular bruises, but nothing worse.”

“What happened to my camera? Well, it’s not mine, I borrowed it from the university for my project.”

“It’s in the locker, love,” Fletch says reassuringly, then opens the drawer and shows it to her. “It was brought in with you.”

“Oh good.” She sighs. “I’m working on a project on Major Wolfe – you know, the marathon runner? She used to be in the Royal Army Medical Corps. She–”

“She’s the one who brought you in,” Fletch says, beaming a smile at her. “She actually carried you the mile and a half from the finish line to the hospital. Said she knew she could get you here faster than the ambulance could reach you because of the crowds and the participants still packing the streets.”

“She – she did?” Ellie says disbelievingly, looking from Fletch’s face to her mother’s.

“She did,” Serena confirms. “Had you in a fireman’s carry across her shoulders.”

“Wow!” Ellie’s face lights up with excitement at this titbit and Serena feels a sinking sensation in her gut at the recognition of Elinor entering full on hero worship mode. She saw it several times when Ellie was a child and a teenager, and it was always tricky to navigate. “We have to invite her over for dinner, mum. She’s a local, you know? Well, she was raised in Holby, then did her first rotation here, and she’s said in interviews that she considers Holby her home base.” Elinor continues on in this vein for a few minutes, talking about how the Major took up marathon running in her early twenties as an antidote to the stress of her studies and work; how she regularly runs the major marathons of the world, including the London, Boston, New York, and Uganda International Marathons, and that when she runs in overseas marathons she raises money for local sustainable projects, and when she runs in British marathons, she raises money for the NHS and local medical charities.

“She did the Endurancelife Coastal Trail Series Pembrokeshire Marathon last September and raised several thousand pounds for English and Welsh NHS hospitals, a cancer charity, two hospices, and a homelessness charity.”

“She sounds like a paragon of virtue,” Serena says wearily. 

“She really is amazing, mum!” Ellie exclaims and Serena’s unsurprised that she fails to detect her mother’s less than enthusiastic response. “Where is she? I want to thank her for saving my life.”

“She’s currently being interviewed by the police,” Serena begins.

“What? Why?” Elinor sits up and starts struggling with the bedclothes, but her efforts to get out of bed are halted by a husky voice just behind Serena.

“I do hope you’re not trying to get out of bed just yet, Ms Elinor Campbell?” There’s warmth and humour in the Major’s voice as she circles around the bed to the side opposite Serena. 

“Oh, I was just – well, it’s just that mum said you were being interviewed by the police – and well I–”

“Were you going to ride to my rescue?” There’s a teasing note in the Major’s voice, but it’s friendly and still full of warmth, and Ellie settles down immediately.

“Maybe?” Ellie says, blushing slightly.

The Major chuckles. “I was giving a witness statement, that’s all. As the first person on the scene and a person who’d seen the entire situation unfold, they wanted to know what I’d seen. I’m afraid they’ll be here in a few moments to interview you, too. But don’t worry, they arrested the driver at the scene.”

“Good. I never did like that Robbie the Bobby when mum was dating him.”

“What?” 

The question is uttered in shocked tones by both Serena and Major Wolfe simultaneously.

“Why on Earth was Robbie Medcalf trailing you at the marathon?” demands Serena, properly angry now.

Ellie shrugs. “He said he wanted to get back together with you and was hassling me to give you a message, but I refused. He was such a creep and he was really awful to Cousin Jason. I didn’t think you wanted to get back together with him, so I told him I wasn’t going to listen to any message he wanted to pass on.”

“You’re right, love,” Serena says, clasping Ellie’s right hand in her left. “I didn’t know you considered him to be a creep, but no, I didn’t, I don’t want to get back together with him. As you say, he was awful to Jason. I could never date anyone who cannot accept that the three of us are a package deal, even if you’re mostly away at University.” 

The next moment Serena’s nephew Jason and the two police officers whom Serena had seen earlier all arrive at Elinor’s bedside almost simultaneously, with Jason loud and anxious about his cousin. 

“Cousin Elinor, are you alright? I heard you got run over by a car at the marathon and had to be rescued by a superhero marathon runner.” 

There’s a chuckle of amusement from the far side of the bed, which draws both Elinor’s and Jason’s attention to the Major. 

Jason immediately takes note of the blonde’s attire and asks loudly, “Are you the person who saved Cousin Elinor’s life? My name is Jason Haynes and I am very interested in marathon running.” He moves quickly around the bed to shake Major Wolfe’s hand and if the blonde is disturbed by his forthright manner she gives no sign of it.

“Hello, Jason. Is it alright if I call you Jason?”

“Yes of course it is. That is my name. I said as much.”

“I know you did, Jason. But telling a person your name doesn’t necessarily mean you want them to use it.”

“I don’t understand.”

The Major glances at the two police officers, waiting impatiently, and at Serena and Ellie, then gives her attention back to Jason. “I tell you what, Jason, why don’t you show me somewhere I can get a drink of water and maybe a snack, and I’ll explain that to you, and talk to you about some of the marathons I’ve run, and while we’re doing that the police officers can talk to Elinor about the accident. Will that be okay?”

“Yes, of course. I know the hospital very well. Not only is Aunty Serena the deputy CEO but I am a porter here.”

“Then you’re just the man I’m looking for. Shall we?” She gestures past the bed and Jason grins widely, happy to be showing off his knowledge of the hospital to a captive audience. She smiles at Ellie and says, “I’ll come back and see you in a bit if that’s okay?”

Ellie beams with almost as much pleasure as Jason and Serena has to fight a surge of jealousy at the easy way that both her daughter and her nephew seem to have taken to the Major. 

Serena resolves not to watch as Jason leads the Major away, instead making herself focus on the two police officers who’ve moved around the bed, a middle-aged brunette takes the seat just vacated by Major Wolfe, while her younger, blonde colleague stands a short distance away, notebook and pen in hand. The brunette begins asking Ellie some questions in a calm, friendly manner, and her colleague notes down the answers.

The police have been gone for a good ten minutes when Hanssen reappears, come to commiserate with Elinor and to tell Serena to take the rest of the day off, and the following couple of days as well if she needs them. Serena would normally protest, but she’s feeling too emotionally drained to argue the point when Hanssen promises that he will personally keep an eye on AAU for her. 

She’s just starting to wonder where Jason’s got to when he reappears, talking nineteen to the dozen to Major Wolfe.

“There you are,” she says sternly. “I was beginning to think you’d got lost.”

He frowns at her. “Aunty Serena I work here, how could I possibly get lost in my own workplace?”

“I – oh, it doesn’t matter. You’re here now. What took you so long?”

He looks a bit confused by her tone, for which she really cannot blame him. “Are you angry with me?” he asks. “I took Major Bernie to Pulses and it was very busy because of the marathon.”

Serena does her best not to heave a loud sigh. “No, love, I’m not angry with you. I’m just–” She makes a vague gesture, and is surprised when the Major says gently, “I expect your Aunty Serena is upset and anxious about your Cousin Elinor getting knocked down, Jason. And of course, she must have had a very busy day even before I brought Elinor here, because the hospital is always busy on Marathon Day.”

Her eyes barely meet Serena’s before she turns her attention to Elinor. “How are you feeling now?” 

“Embarrassed, mostly,” Ellie says and the Major shakes her head slightly, smiling. 

“You’ve nothing to be embarrassed about. Absolutely none of this is your fault.”

“No but–” Ellie blushes and Serena swallows hard at the sight. “I wanted to interview you for the project I’m doing on you for University, and instead you had to bring me to hospital.”

The Major chuckles softly. “You don’t need to be embarrassed about that,” she says in a reassuring tone. “Do you have your phone?”

Ellie looks panicked until Serena assures her that it’s in the drawer with her camera. Ellie retrieves it and the Major dictates her own number so that she can enter it on her contact list. 

“Drop me a text or call me, whichever is more convenient for you, but better make it before the end of the week as I’ll be leaving Holby for Pembrokeshire on Sunday to get some practice in there before the Marathon there in a couple of weeks.”

“Thank you very much, Major Wolfe.”

She smiles. “Call me Bernie. Now that I’m retired I don’t insist on the rank.”

“Thank you, Bernie.”

She nods. “I’ll leave you to it. Good to meet you, Ellie, though I wish it had been under better circumstances.” She turns to Jason. “Thank you very much for your assistance in finding Pulses, Jason, I did appreciate it.”

To Serena’s surprise he sticks out his hand and she shakes it with a grave expression, although there’s a twinkle in her eyes. 

“Thank you for talking to me about marathons, Major Bernie. I should like to talk to you some more.”

“Well, maybe your cousin will let you sit in when she interviews me,” the Major suggests. 

“Of course,” says Ellie immediately, smiling at them both.

“I’ll see you out,” Serena says, wanting to apologise.

“That’s quite alright, Ms Campbell. I haven’t forgotten the way.” She nods curtly, then turns and strides off the ward, attracting no small amount of attention from both patients and staff as she goes.

Serena feels a surge of shame and embarrassment at the way she’s behaved towards a woman who’s been kind, friendly, and generous with her time. “Right,” she says, trying to adopt a brisk tone, “let’s get you home, Ellie.”

Later that evening, after both Ellie and Jason have gone to bed, Serena is finishing up a bottle of Shiraz in the sitting room when she decides that she really must apologise to Bernie Wolfe. So she grabs her phone and types in the other woman’s number – she hadn’t made a conscious effort to memorise it, but she is good with numbers so she can recall it – and, after a little dithering, decides to text rather than ring the other woman.

 _Good evening Major Wolfe. Elinor Campbell’s mother here. Just wanted to thank you for rescuing Ellie today. And to apologise for my rudeness earlier. I’ve no excuse for making that baseless accusation. Serena._

She doesn’t get an immediate reply and she thinks it was silly to expect one – the Major is probably already fast asleep in bed. She heaves a sigh, pushes herself to her feet, then takes her wine glass and the empty bottle into the kitchen. After washing up the glass and rinsing the bottle for the recycling, she checks the back door is locked, then turns off the lights. She checks the front door is locked, then turns off the remainder of the lights downstairs, before making her way upstairs. She checks briefly on Ellie, who is sound asleep, and Jason, who is about to go to sleep, then makes her way to her own room, more than ready to sleep, also. 

She’s just finished washing her face and cleaning her teeth when her phone alerts her to a new text message: _No thanks necessary. Apology accepted. B_

It feels a bit like a slap in the face, which she supposes is no more than she deserves, and she decides not to push. She was needlessly rude to the woman and knows she has no right to expect anything from the Major.

She tries not to worry about whether the Major will renege on her promise to donate the money she raised to AAU in view of Serena’s behaviour. Eventually she decides the other woman is probably too honourable to give in to such petty behaviour.

SC-BW-SC-BW-SC

On Saturday evening Serena has cooked dinner for four per Ellie’s desire to invite the Major over for dinner both as a thank you for getting her to the hospital and as a precursor to an interview for her university project. Jason has been excitedly reading up on famous marathon runners and marathons, and is eager to discuss them at length, although he has promised not to bombard the Major with questions while she is eating. He has set the table with a clean white tablecloth, Serena’s best china, and napkins that he’s folded so intricately that Serena wonders whether anyone will want to actually use them.

“Why are you putting your plate and cutlery on a tray, Aunty Serena?” asks Jason a few minutes before the Major’s due to arrive.

“I shall take my dinner upstairs to eat,” Serena says. “I’ve a stack of articles to read and this will be the perfect opportunity to catch up while you’re eating with Major.”

Jason frowns and Ellie gives her a sharp look. “Don’t you like Major Bernie?” he asks, clearly confused.

“I think she’s a very fine woman,” Serena says, “and I am exceedingly grateful to her for saving Ellie, but I’m sure I’ll only be in the way.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, mum,” Ellie says, her tone sharp. “Do you want her to think you don’t appreciate her?”

“Of course, not,” Serena says immediately. 

“Then you should eat dinner with us,” Jason says simply, and puts her plate and cutlery back on the table, then takes the tray back into the kitchen.

“What happened on Thursday, mum?” Ellie asks quietly, her expression concerned. “You’ve been acting weirdly for days.”

“Nothing,” Serena says in an unconvincing tone. Fortunately for her the doorbell chimes at that precise moment, and Jason hurries to let the Major in, Ellie going to join him in the hall. Serena goes back to the kitchen to ensure that everything is ready to be served.

When she pops her head around the kitchen door a few moments later, Jason is hanging up the Major’s coat – the August weather having reverted to type and turned wet earlier in the day – and Ellie is offering the sock-clad woman a drink.

“Just a glass of chilled water, still, please,” the blonde says. “I don’t drink much alcohol because of the training regimen I follow.”

“Does that mean you won’t want a glass of wine with your meal?” asks Jason. “Aunt Serena made Beef Wellington and she and Ellie will drink wine with it.”

“Yes, I’ll have a glass of wine with my meal, Jason. But only the one. I cannot afford to have a hangover, and I find them unpleasant anyway.”

“I don’t like the taste of wine,” Jason tells her, gesturing for her to enter the sitting room while Ellie moves towards the kitchen for the requested glass of water.

Serena, meanwhile, is trying not to gape; she had thought Major Bernie Wolfe looked stunning in her running gear the other day and now she’s discovering that the Major looks equally good in skinny black jeans and a forest green long sleeve shirt with the top buttons undone just far enough to show off her cleavage. She licks her lips, shivers, then ducks back into the kitchen properly just before Ellie arrives to collect the Major’s glass of water.

“Everything alright, mum? You’re looking a bit flushed.”

“Yes, fine,” Serena says. “It’s just the heat from the oven making me warm.”

“The Major would like a glass of chilled still water,” Ellie says, and fetches a glass from the cupboard. 

“There’s a bottle in the fridge,” Serena tells her. 

Ellie nods, then pours out a glass of water. “Do you want some help serving dinner?”

“Yes please, love.” Serena feels surprised by the offer; in fact she’s been surprised by Ellie’s behaviour since the day of the marathon: gone is her usual acerbic manner and instead she has been thoughtful, courteous, and unendingly friendly towards Jason, for whom she had previously had little time since her cousin moved in with Serena nine months ago. She feels guilty for wondering how long this change in behaviour will last, but it’s been quite a few years since her daughter wasn’t generally stroppy and sharp with others.

“Okay. Back in a minute.” She disappears with the Major’s glass of water, and Serena turns her attention to getting the Beef Wellington onto a serving platter, directing Ellie, when she returns, to drain the steamed vegetables that are to accompany the beef and put them into a serving dish. She then gets out the garlic and herb roast potatoes and while Ellie carries in the dishes of vegetables, Serena carries the platter of Beef Wellington.

“Dinner is served,” Ellie calls cheerfully to Jason and the Major, who immediately join Serena and Ellie in the dining room. 

Jason pulls out a chair for the Major, and Serena hides a smile at his old-fashioned good manners, then he pulls out Ellie’s chair, which is on the Major’s right, while Serena, it appears, is to be seated to her left, and Jason settles himself opposite the Major.

Serena cuts the Beef Wellington into slices and the Major accepts two slices from her, before taking Ellie’s plate and holding it while Serena slides two more slices onto her daughter’s plate. Then Serena serves Jason, adding two slices to his plate, which leaves two slices for herself. She then serves up the roast potatoes, noting that the Major passes Ellie’s plate over first, and when Ellie has accepted her plate, she offers her own. Once they’ve all got heaped spoonfuls of steamed vegetables as well, Serena pours wine for everyone except Jason, who already has his preferred glass of apple juice in front of him. 

“Tuck in,” Serena says, wondering if the heartiness in her voice sounds as fake to everyone else as it does to her, but no one comments on it, so she tells herself not to make a fool of herself and focuses on eating. The other three make more than enough small talk for Serena to remain largely silent, only speaking when she’s spoken to until their plates are cleared, and she offers them dessert: ice cream sorbet that she knows both Ellie and Jason are fond of.

“I’ll pass, if you don’t mind,” the Major says – the first thing she’s said directly to Serena since her arrival. “I’m sure it will be as delicious as the Beef Wellington, but I don’t want to risk messing up my dietary program.”

“Of course,” Serena says, banishing from her thoughts the mental image of Major Wolfe licking ice cream from a spoon. 

Jason and Ellie both accept, so Serena carries the empty platter and the serving dish from the vegetables into the kitchen, then startles when a husky voice behind her asks tentatively, “Where would you like me to put this?”

“Could you wear louder shoes, please?” Serena asks, gasping in surprise and clutching her hand to her heart. 

The Major looks down at her sock-clad feet and chuckles. “Not wearing any shoes at all, I’m afraid. Hence the silence of my approach.”

“Oh, so you weren’t creeping up on me?” Serena asks, unintentionally flirting a bit as she accepts the serving dish from the potatoes.

The blonde smirks. “Not deliberately, no.”

“I am relieved to hear it.”

“About the other day,” the Major says, her tone suddenly serious.

“Aunty Serena, are we having dessert?” Jason clomps into the kitchen, completely oblivious to whatever’s happening between the two women.

“Yes, of course, love.” Serena brings out two bowls of sorbet from the fridge and passes them over to him, and he thanks her kindly, nods at the Major, then returns to the dining room.

“You were saying?” Serena asks once her nephew’s out of earshot.

The blonde shakes her head. “Never mind, it’s not important.”

“I had no business making baseless accusations about your intentions,” Serena says quickly. “It was rude and unkind, and – well, I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m very sorry for my behaviour.”

The Major steps closer and puts a hand on Serena’s forearm. “It’s okay,” she says softly, her expression sincere. “You were under a lot of pressure. I have forgiven you, I promise.” She squeezes Serena’s arm, her dark eyes watching her face intently.

“Okay.”

“Okay.” The Major smiles. “Dinner was delicious, by the way. I’m afraid I’m a very basic cook as there wasn’t much call for cordon bleu cooking in the desert.”

“You surprise me, Major,” Serena says, amused.

“Bernie. Please.” 

“Bernie.” 

The blonde’s smile is dazzling, and Serena feels very warm, as if she’s just stepped into a beam of direct sunlight. “I’d like to talk to you about your proposed Trauma Unit before I head off to Pembrokeshire tomorrow. Would you like to have brunch with me?”

“I’d love to,” Serena says, feeling a thrill of excitement at the prospect of having Bernie to herself, even if it is to talk shop.

“Good. Shall we say 11am? At _The Alchemist_?”

“I’ll be there,” Serena says.

Bernie’s smile is, if anything, even wider than the previous one and she leans forward to brush her lips lightly against Serena’s cheek. “I’d better go and let your daughter and nephew ask their questions,” she says, and Serena wonders if she’s imagining the reluctance she seems to hear in Bernie’s voice – as if she’d rather stay in the kitchen with Serena.

“You should,” Serena agrees, definitely feeling reluctant to let the other woman go. “If you don’t, one of them will come barging through that door any second now.”

Bernie smirks and Serena feels as if her knees have turned to jelly. “Duly noted,” the blonde says, before brushing another brief kiss against Serena’s skin. 

“Cheeky,” Serena admonishes, and gets a grin and sparkling brown eyes in response before the Major moves away.

The kitchen door swings open just as Bernie reaches it, but her reflexes are fast, and she catches hold of it before it can smack her in the face.

“Jason,” Serena says, alarmed by his unusually vigorous entrance. “A little more decorum, please.”

“Sorry, Aunty Serena,” he says. “I was looking for Major Bernie. Ellie’s ready to interview her – you,” he amends, turning towards the blonde.

“I was just having a quick chat with your Aunty,” Bernie tells him. “I’m ready for both of you now, however.”

“Can I get you a coffee or something?” Serena asks before the pair depart.

“No, thank you. Although if you’ve got any decaf tea, I’d love a cuppa.”

“I’ll check the cupboard. Jason, do you want anything to drink?”

“No, thank you, Aunty Serena.”

“Very well.” 

She takes the empty sorbet bowls he’s left on the kitchen table and puts them in the dishwasher, and adds the crockery and cutlery to the machine, then checks in the cupboard for any decaf tea that she might have lurking – she doesn’t remember ever consciously buying such a thing, but concedes to herself that Ellie might have bought some. 

To her surprise there’s a box of Twining’s decaffeinated Earl Grey tea in the cupboard and it’s not a decade out of date, either, so she makes a mug for Bernie, then pours herself a half glass of Shiraz, before heading into the sitting room.

Bernie accepts the mug with a quick half smile as she continues to answer Ellie’s questions, and Serena wonders who it was who decided the blonde should sit on the sofa, not in the other armchair. Not that she minds sharing with Bernie – in fact, she’d quite like to share more than just a sofa with Major Wolfe. A thought she finds more thrilling than daunting, which is a surprise since she’s never had an intimate relationship with a woman before and she doesn’t even know if Bernie likes women, although those brief brushes of her lips seem to hint that she does.

Then she focuses on what Ellie’s asking and realises that Bernie does, indeed, like women.

“In addition to local hospitals, you’ve been supporting charities that work with LGBTQ people since you took up marathon running full time. Is there any significance to that fact?”

“Well, the British Army lifted the ban on homosexuals in their ranks in 2000, but I never told anyone that I’m a lesbian while I was serving – in part, I suppose, because I was too used to hiding it there, but also largely because I’m a fairly private person. Once I was forced to retire from the RAMC on medical grounds, I decided that I could be discreetly open about my sexuality by supporting LGBTQ charities.”

“Is it true that you were blown up?” Ellie asks and Serena gasps, shocked. 

“Yes it is. Three and a half years ago the vehicle I was in was hit by a roadside IED – Improvised Explosive Device, that is – the driver, unfortunately, spotted it too late and although she tried to swerve, it exploded and the vehicle rolled until it ended up upside down in a poppy field. This was in Afghanistan. I was left with an unstable C5/C6 spinal fracture with a traumatised cervical disc in the same area, and a pseudoaneurysm in the right ventricle of my heart. They managed to stabilise me in Kabul and flew me back to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Birmingham, where there’s a Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit set up specifically to treat operational casualties that can’t be treated in the field. I had to have the cervical disc removed and surgery to fix my heart, but afterwards there was considerable concern about whether or not my back would be too weak for lengthy trauma operations.” 

Bernie gives Ellie a half smile. “Your mother would no doubt be able to tell you that operations can sometimes go on for hours – depending on the trauma – and you have to remember that I was sometimes operating on men and women who’d been very badly injured, by roadside IEDs, among other things, so being able to stand for three or four hours at a time was vitally important. I was offered a desk job, training new recruits, but I decided that after twenty five years in the Army it was time to do something else and I took the retirement package they offered me instead.”

“Did you mean to take up marathon running full time?”

Bernie chuckles. “Not at all. It was simply the fact that I had all this free time on my hands and I finally had the opportunity to train more consistently, and because I wasn’t restricted by when I could take leave, it meant I was able to actually sign up for the races I’d never previously had a chance to do but wanted to – such as the Uganda International Marathon which takes place over a week, during which participants not only take part in the race but also work on local, sustainable projects for which they raise funds with their sponsorship. Next year will be my second time running the UIM and I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Any Marathons you haven’t run yet but plan to?”

“Two,” Bernie says with a big grin. “The Patagonian International Marathon. The route meanders below enormous ice-clad peaks and past glassy lakes on its way to the very southern tip of Chile, in the surroundings of the incredible Torres del Paine National Park, and it ends at the base of the 3,000 metre high Monte Almirante Nieto. It's held in September and routinely features hostile and unpredictable weather conditions – the average temperatures are usually between 2 and 10C, and there's a chance of high winds, rain and snow.”

“Brr,” Serena says involuntarily, and Bernie grins widely.

“What’s the other one?” asks Ellie.

“The Great Wall Marathon which, as you can probably guess, runs along the Great Wall of China, to the east of Beijing. It's a very gruelling route that takes the average runner twice as long to complete as the usual marathon owing to the sheer amount of climbing involved. It features undulating trails, steep ascents and giant staircases comprising a total of 5,164 steps. I'm told that the crowds and the amazing scenery make up for the hard slog, though. I’m planning on doing the PIM next year and will cut back on the number of other marathons I do in order to prepare for it, and I am hoping to do the GWM in a couple of years.”

“Any marathons you think you wouldn’t ever tackle?”

“The Antarctic Ice Marathon. The route begins at the Union Glacier exploration camp, 600 miles from the South Pole, and participants wear balaclavas and ski goggles to compete in temperatures which can hit as low as minus 20C. There are also the strong Katabatic winds to contend with, which can reach 300 kilometres per hour, making it a punishing challenge for even the hardiest of athletes. It's an incredibly testing route and I've been informed by the medics that it would be inadvisable for me to attempt it given my heart issues.”

Serena reaches out and squeezes Bernie’s arm at the sadness in her voice, and Bernie glances at her, before giving her attention back to Ellie. 

“That’s the last of my questions, thank you Major Bernie.”

The blonde grins. “You’re welcome, Elinor.” She turns her attention back to Jason and asks, “Didn’t you have some questions for me, too?”

He nods, tapping a notepad that’s resting on the arm of his armchair. “Some of them you’ve already answered in response to Cousin Elinor’s questions, but I do have a few more.”

“Will you excuse me?” Elinor asks before Jason can get started. “I want to go and start transcribing my notes.”

The Major stands up and offers a hand. “Of course. It was lovely meeting you again, Elinor.” 

“Likewise,” Ellie says, shaking her hand. “Good luck in the Pembrokeshire Marathon.”

“Thank you.”

Ellie disappears and Jason asks his questions, most of which centre on famous marathon runners since Bernie’s already answered most of the ones about actual marathons. Eventually he tells her that he has no more questions and he says he’s going to bed. He wishes Bernie a good night and good luck in Pembrokeshire, then also disappears.

“I should get going, too,” Bernie says, getting to her feet. “I need to finish sorting out a few things before I leave tomorrow.” 

“Are we still on for brunch tomorrow?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good.” 

Serena walks into the hall with Bernie and watches as she pulls on her boots, then holds open her coat for her to slide her arms into.

“Thanks,” she says softly, turning back around to face Serena. “See you tomorrow.”

“Eleven o’clock sharp,” Serena agrees. She’s only a little surprised when Bernie leans in and presses her lips gently and very chastely to Serena’s own.

“Thank you for dinner.”

“Thank you for coming,” Serena says. 

Bernie smirks at that, reading innuendo into it where none was intended, and Serena swats at her arm, then laughs softly before leaning in to return Bernie’s kiss a little less chastely.

Bernie takes a step back. “As lovely as this is and as much as I would love to explore this further, I really do have to go.”

“Sorry,” Serena says, a little mortified.

“Hey, don’t be sorry,” Bernie says. “I started it.” She smiles again. “See you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Good.” Bernie opens the front door, casts a glance up at the sky, then moves onto the drive, past Serena’s car, and unlocks the door of a little sports car that’s parked behind Serena’s. She waves, then folds herself into the car and after a few moments, reverses down the drive and disappears into the darkness.

Serena sighs softly, then steps back inside, locks the door, then goes to finish tidying up. She will go to bed shortly and hope to dream of a gorgeous blonde trauma surgeon.

SC-BW-SC-BW-SC

September 17th arrives to find Serena Campbell at the finishing line of the Pembrokeshire Marathon. Bernie doesn’t know she’s here – in the weeks since the Holby Marathon the pair have exchanged texts messages and phone calls, some of them becoming quite heated so that Serena has had to take care of herself afterwards, but she’s made no mention of her intention to be in Pembrokeshire on Marathon day. She knows that Bernie has booked a self catering cottage at The Druidstone Hotel in Druidston Haven, about three miles away from the race’s start and finish point in Little Haven, so Serena has booked a room there, but she’s hoping it won’t be needed so she hasn’t yet checked in. She also knows that Bernie will be staying for four more nights, including tonight, and she’s taken a few days off work in order to remain in Pembrokeshire herself. Serena knows it’s something of a risk, doing this, but she thinks, from the direction that their conversations have taken in the past week, that Bernie is interested in having a relationship with her. She simply doesn’t know if Bernie’s ready for that to happen right now.

“There they are!” 

Someone further down the way from Serena has spotted the front runners as they make their way back up the marathon route. Bernie has actually run the ‘Ultra’ race, which is even longer than a regular marathon at nearly thirty five miles and features a double loop at the farthest point of the race’s route. She watches avidly as the runners head up the hill towards them and feels a thrill when she spots a blonde head, hair plastered down with sweat, powering up the trail. The Ultra race started at around 8.30 this morning and the record time for a woman runner is five hours and thirteen minutes. Serena checks her watch and notes that it is 1.38pm – which means Bernie is probably just about to break that record.

She cheers with everyone else when Bernie crosses the finish line, ahead of any number of others, although she knows that a chap named McWhirter finished just over half an hour ago – she also knows that he’s won the men’s race on more than one occasion previously, having been told this by a couple of avid spectators earlier.

Someone hands Bernie a towel and a bottle of water. She gives a quick rub to her face, then drapes the towel around her shoulders while she concentrates on drinking the bottle of water. Serena tries and fails not to stare at the other woman’s neck as her throat works as she swallows – somehow she hadn’t noticed Bernie’s throat before (she did notice her collarbones, though, and harbours thoughts of nibbling and kissing her way along them). Once she’s finished the bottle of water, all while being congratulated by a number of people who mostly pat her on the back, she uses the towel to rub at her neck and hair, and Serena approaches while Bernie’s not looking.

“Good work, soldier,” she says, and Bernie’s head snaps around and she yanks the bit of the towel that’s on the right side of her head away so that she can see clearly.

“Serena!”

“Surprise,” she says, feeling a bit self-conscious.

“Wow. You’re definitely a surprise – but a very nice one. I wasn’t expecting to see you until I got back to Holby.”

“I know,” Serena says, “but I had plenty of leave accrued and Hanssen promised that he’d personally keep an eye on AAU in my absence, so here I am.”

“Well aren’t I the lucky one?” Bernie smirks and Serena feels heat in her cheeks, nevertheless she steps forward and kisses the Major with obvious intent. “I guess this means I’m going to get lucky tonight?” Bernie asks, her voice all low and husky in Serena’s ear.

“I’d say your luck’s in, yes,” Serena tells her. “If that’s okay? I did rather spring myself on you.”

“It’s very okay,” Bernie says, and kisses her in an even more heated fashion than Serena kissed her.

“Okay,” she says, pulling back. “As delightful as this is, we are in a public place and are in danger of making a very public spectacle of ourselves.”

Bernie chuckles. “Point taken.” She sighs. “Give me a few minutes, and then we can get going.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Serena tells her and earns a surprisingly shy smile in response. 

Twenty minutes later they’re at the Druidstone Hotel, ensconced in Bernie’s cottage, named the Byre, and Serena’s cancelled her room booking. They’ve collected a late lunch from the hotel restaurant as they’re too tired to want to go in search of food elsewhere and Serena’s just waiting for Bernie to finish taking a shower.

The blonde emerges from the bedroom into the sitting room and Serena feels her breath catch in her throat: Bernie’s wearing skinny black jeans, as she did the night she came for dinner, paired with a soft looking pastel pink long sleeve shirt. She’s rolled the sleeves back showing off her sinewy arms and the shirt’s unbuttoned far enough to give Serena the merest hint of white lace and her cleavage. She licks her lips and makes herself sit still and not jump Bernie because the poor woman deserves her lunch after spending more than five hours running the coastal trail.

“You look ready to devour me rather than that baguette you bought,” Bernie teases.

“I feel ready to devour you,” Serena admits, blushing. “But lunch first. I had a long drive and you had an even longer run this morning.”

Bernie smirks in that devastatingly delicious manner of hers, then moves towards Serena and reaches down to cup her left cheek before dipping her head to kiss her breathless. “That’s a down payment,” she says. “There’s more to come after I’ve had some lunch.”

“How did you not have all the women in your regiment swooning over you?” asks Serena.

Bernie gives her a truly rakish grin. “Who says they weren’t?”

Serena swats at her ass as she moves away. “You’re incorrigible,” she says.

Bernie chuckles, then sits down and they waste no more time in talk, focusing on their lunch: Serena opted for a chicken, bacon and mayo baguette with salad, while Bernie went for chicken tikka masala with rice, naan, and mango chutney. While they’re eating in silence, they steal glances at one another, and it seems to Serena that their eyes are speaking what their mouths are too busy to say, and she feels heat and moisture building between her thighs.

Eventually they finish eating, opting to save their desserts (banoffee pie) for later, and without any discussion being necessary, they move into the main bedroom and settle onto the bed together.

“I want to touch you,” Bernie whispers. “May I?”

“Oh god, yes please!” Serena gasps.

Bernie gives her a soft smile, then reaches out and cups Serena’s cheek before leaning in for a kiss, then she kisses along her jaw before nipping at her earlobe. She trails kisses down Serena’s neck, before nuzzling into the crook of her neck. 

“Can I undress you?”

“Yes. Yes please.”

Bernie deftly unbuttons Serena’s silk blouse, all while kissing her very intently. She slips the blouse off, then slides her hands under Serena’s cami top and carefully pushes against Serena’s back, urging her forward so that their breasts are pressed together. 

Bernie undresses Serena with a tenderness that’s bordering on reverence as she kisses and strokes at newly exposed skin.

Eventually Serena loses patience and begins undressing the blonde while licking and biting her collarbones. Bernie moans and her hips surge forward, forcing Serena to bite back a moan of her own. She gradually manages to finish undressing the Major and it isn’t long afterwards that their touches become intimate and focused, and Serena is pleased to discover that making love to a woman is a far more enjoyable experience than she could ever have imagined. 

Afterwards, the two of them sprawl on the bed spent, sated, and satisfied with themselves and each other.

When Serena wakes later she’s confused about where she is – the bed beneath her doesn’t feel like her own, there’s a nip in the air, and there’s a warm body plastered to her back. It’s the latter, the strangest thing about her situation, that clues her in to her surroundings: she’s in bed with Bernie Wolfe after the latter won the Ultra Marathon earlier today.

She shifts and Bernie makes a noise of complaint, then rouses herself. “What?” she asks hoarsely.

“Nothing,” Serena says. “You’re just gorgeous, that’s all, and I wanted to look at you.”

“Ridiculous woman,” Bernie says. “If anyone in this bed is gorgeous, it’s you.”

“I’ll arm wrestle you to decide it,” Serena declares, and Bernie lets loose the most astonishing laughter Serena’s ever heard – a veritable goose honk, which of course sets Serena off too.

Then she finds herself on her back and being kissed to within an inch of her life. 

“That’s just playing dirty,” she complains when Bernie finally releases her mouth and she’s gathered enough breath to speak.

“Really?” Bernie asks, her tone teasing.

“Really,” Serena asserts, then shifts so that she can pin the blonde down. Bernie doesn’t look as if she minds being pinned down, she notes, and she leans down to kiss her as senseless as Bernie kissed her just a few minutes before.

She pulls back and looks down in smug satisfaction at the stupefied expression on the Major’s face. “You are very gorgeous,” she tells her, and Bernie smirks. 

“Doesn’t mean that you’re not as gorgeous as I am,” she asserts and Serena chuckles.

“Okay, okay.”

They snuggle for a bit and Serena’s just about to doze off again when Bernie’s stomach makes the most incredibly loud noise and she laughs weakly, then pushes herself upright and eyes the blonde. 

“I think someone’s ready for their banoffee pie,” she observes.

“Mmhmm. Wouldn’t say no,” Bernie says, so Serena climbs off the bed and tugs on Bernie’s discarded shirt against the chill nip in the air, then fetches their portions of pie from the fridge. She also makes a pot of coffee and carries it, the plates of pie, two forks and napkins, two mugs, and a jug of milk into the bedroom on a tray. She sets the tray across Bernie’s lap while she climbs back into bed, then sets about pouring them both a mug of coffee while Bernie puts one plate, fork and napkin on her bedside table, then accepts a mug of coffee, before Serena claims the other plate, fork and napkin, the tray being set onto the floor out of the way.

As they’re eating Serena remembers something Hanssen had told her the day before as she was about to leave. “Mmm, meant to say,” she says after swallowing and dabbing at her mouth with the napkin. “The Board have accepted the proposal for the Trauma Unit – so thanks for your help on getting that properly up to spec – and they’ve allocated funds from the Trust to match the money you raised from the Marathon.”

Bernie leans over and gives her a kiss on the cheek. “That’s excellent news.”

“It is. I really am grateful for all your help the other Sunday.”

Bernie waves her fork dismissively. “You’re very welcome. I’m really glad that I could assist.”

“So am I.” 

Serena had been quite surprised when she’d turned up for brunch with Bernie at The Alchemist to discover the other woman had brought a good deal of paperwork with her regarding Serena’s proposal. The Major had explained that Hanssen had asked if she had any advice for them and had provided Bernie with a copy of the proposal that Serena had so far put together. It was that, along with her own extensive notes, that Bernie had produced as they ate brunch and drank coffee together. She’d talked Serena through everything, including technical specifications for the machinery they’d need, and rough costings for running a unit of similar size which Bernie herself had helped to establish at a hospital in Kiev, to which she’d been seconded a couple of years ago for that very purpose. Serena had nearly wept at having such expert assistance from a trauma surgeon, and when Bernie told her to email her the completed proposal before she submitted it, she hadn’t been able to resist leaning over and kissing Bernie right in front of the patrons of the café, to Bernie’s obvious, blushing delight. 

“Will you come and see it, once it’s up and running?”

“I’d be delighted,” Bernie agrees as she polishes off the last crumbs of her pie, and sets aside the plate, fork, and napkin to grab her mug of coffee. “When do they start work?”

“Just after I get back to Holby.” 

“Well, I’ll be there with bells on.”

Serena snorts. “Not literally, I trust?”

“Only if you want me to, love.” 

The startled look on Bernie’s face is, Serena’s sure, matched by a similar look on her own face.

“Sorry,” the blonde says, “I – uh–”

“It’s fine,” Serena says, cutting her off swiftly. “I like it.”

“Good. I do, too.” 

They exchange shy smiles, then finish off their coffees before settling back down on the bed to kiss and cuddle. And if the kissing and cuddling develops into something more well, Serena won’t mind in the least. She thinks she might even be falling in love – she recognises the signs, after all. But she thinks it’s a little too early to mention that, given that they’ve literally only just started sleeping together.

It’s unexpected, of course, both falling in love at the age of fifty one, and moreover, falling in love with another woman, but she’s not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially not when the woman in question's as gorgeous as Bernie Wolfe.


End file.
